“About 20 percent of people whose trips have been impacted by a medical emergency or other type of emergency had travel insurance,” said Linda Kundell, spokesperson with the U.S. Travel Insurance Association. “That means that 80 percent of those impacted did not.”

The Travel Insurance Association said there are lots of lesser-known coverage options, like reimbursement for getting stuck on the tarmac, missed connections, lost passports, even delays or trip cancellations because of illness or injury at home.

Insurance can also cover medical evacuation back to the United States.